PV Tech reached its own little milestone of having reported and analysed the R&D spending habits of the same 12 key PV module manufacturers for 10 years. The results have just been published in sister technical journal Photovoltaics International as part of the annual leaders and laggards of R&D spending for 2016.

Once upon a time, it was relatively easy to verify a PV module manufacturer’s shipment claims and therefore any market share gains or shipment milestone claims as the majority of leading companies were public listed entities.

Norway headquartered integrated PV module manufacturer REC Group has launched its first product using monocrystalline solar cells, a compact 50-cell module, specifically designed for the Japanese residential market.

SolarWorld Americas the subsidiary of bankrupt integrated PV module manufacturer SolarWorld AG said it would receive a US$6 million cash infusion from its parent company’s financial lenders to continue reduced operations after recent workforce reductions and support its co-petition with bankrupt US rival Suniva in the ITC ‘Section 201’ case.

Despite the major exhibition having a European tag, Intersolar Europe remains one of the most ‘international’ solar trade shows on the event calendar. As a result, new products launched at this show predominantly reflect trends and developments across multiple markets. On the first day of the exhibition, several new products stand-out for attention. More Day 1 updates are to follow.

Norway-headquartered integrated PV module manufacturer REC Group has been officially approved to be able to bid on solar supply tenders in France, organised by the government after receiving the required low carbon footprint certification by French module testing and certification body, CERTISOLIS.

Mono c-Si cell production is forecast to account for 49% of all c-Si cell production in 2018, and will become the dominant technology used in the PV industry by 2019, according to new research contained in the latest release of the PV Manufacturing & Technology Quarterly report, from the in-house research unit at PV-Tech’s parent company Solar Media Ltd.

REC Group has introduced an all-black variant of its ‘TwinPeak 2’ Series PV module for US and European residential markets. The REC TwinPeak 2 BLK2 Series has a nominal power rating of up to 285Wp, using its half-cut cell and PERC (Passivated Emitter Rear Cell) technology and uniformly black-colored multicrystalline cells.

In preparation for our latest manufacturing and technology webinars on Wednesday 7 December and Thursday 8 December, we have updated our in-house models for the Silicon Module Super League (SMSL) companies, revealing the continued push towards high-efficiency cell production.